Zambrero’s new CEO Daryl McCormack has barely had time to draw breath since his recent appointment. Franchise Executives spoke to him part-way through a six-week Listening Tour, meeting franchisees around Australia, in New Zealand, and in the US.
A former area developer for the brand, and still a multi-unit franchisee, McCormack has seen first hand the importance of effective communication between franchisors and franchisees. And as the brand leader, he is committed to strengthening these relationships and driving brand growth.
Here Daryl reveals how he is approaching his role and his key strategies.
Franchise Executives: What do you hope to hear from franchisees on your Listening Tour?
Daryl McCormack: What’s on their mind, what’s troubling them. As a franchise partner it can be frustrating when things take time to get done. And if you don’t say anything to franchisees, they think nothing’s happening.
I’ve previously been in this leadership role for a couple of brands. I know it’s not easy and I know not everything can get done at once. But franchisees want to be heard.
And then we’re going back to them with notes on what we agreed, which often doesn’t happen in franchise groups. But then it’s really going to be how we act on it, right? So I’ve got a bit of a honeymoon period, I understand that.
We have 45 days to go on this tour. But already, we’ve come back and today we’ve actioned some of those points.
FE: What are the best ways that franchises can be supported by the franchisor beyond listening and integration?
DM: Setting an example. We’re really strong in certain markets and others we’re not. So in those markets, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, finding some key sites and opening restaurants that we’re all proud of and really setting an example.
In Adelaide, we have a chance to go into our first airport site ever, which is really exciting. So, how can we support that franchisee?
We’re on a refurbishment program at the moment and the difference between a refurbished and non-refurbished store is like day and night. So set an example, get franchisees to do refurbishments. Because I have my own restaurants, when I speak to them, I have empathy, I actually get it.
So then it’s about really it’s educating my team here to think more like a franchisee, which is easier said than done. We made a really good impression at the recent conference and I think we’ve gathered momentum since then.
FE: You’ve got the perspectives of having been a CEO and a franchisee. What other skills do you bring that are going to make a difference to the business?
DM: Leadership. I’ve got a history of unifying people. I always try and hire people that will challenge me.
And trust. Anyone that’s worked for me can come and talk to me about something and then I will deal with it empathetically, otherwise they’re not going to come to you again.
FE: So what else do franchisees want from the franchisor?
DM: They like data. At the end of the day, while we do some amazing things with Plate 4 Plate and we want to be the best employer in every market, for the franchise partner it’s a business. You’ve got the house on the line, the next holiday, your child’s education.
So we need to do a better job of giving them information on return on investment, etc. We can’t guarantee success but we have so much data, we have 260-odd restaurants, big, small, regional. It’s just using that data to make better educated decisions.
And then the other part of it is sharing the local marketing stories. There are some wonderful people out there doing some great work; how do you harness that and communicate it?
One of things we’re looking to do is beef up our local marketing support. We’re a brand that’s very socially minded and we can go into small communities because of our process and our investment level. So local marketing is really important for us. We don’t have the budget of some of the big QSR brands so we really need to divide and conquer and go local.
FE: What other areas of the business have untapped potential?
DM: The big one is menu development. We have a very healthy menu offering and we’ve just launched chips after 18 months of study. They’re the healthiest chips in QSR in terms of cholesterol, sodium, etc.
It was pretty obvious we should have chips but it required a real change of thought and it came from Dr. Prince. For us it meant adding new pieces of equipment, a convection oven, and upgrading switchboards and power outlets and drainage. We now have chips at 29 restaurants and we’ll have 90 restaurants with chips by Christmas. Hopefully by next June we’ll have it all over the country.
Three of my stores were part of the initial stage because I was really passionate about it. And for us, it’s a relatively easy upsell and it increases your average spend. We’ve got a burrito with chips, and we’ll be able to do things like loaded chips with nachos.
So that’s one part of it. Then the next part is with the convection oven, the teams are working on breakfast options. Now we’ve got this piece of equipment that just opens the door for us to do a lot more things and increase trading hours.
You’ve got that asset, that restaurant sitting here, not opening until 11am when you can open at six or seven – that is a huge opportunity.
FE: So are you on track for a 400 store footprint?
DM: Yes, we look good for that as a national figure, and we’re beefing up our real estate team as we speak.
Zambrero ‘s a great, solid, fantastic business but we have global ambitions. For us to go to that level, we need to take on people that stretch me.
The people we’re hiring have global experience, so this is where it’s a bit different to the past. We’ve got people that have proven global experience that can operate Australia, Asia, Europe. So that opens the door for us to do that because look, I’ve got overseas experience and anyone that’s worked overseas, it is very different. And that’s the time you really need to listen.
We’ve got 13 restaurants in the UK, and Ireland has 27. Ireland’s going really well and one of our country New South Wales franchisees is going to open a restaurant in Scotland.
In the US we’ve got two local families that both have food experience, that want to do two restaurants each, in Florida and Indiana.
We all understand the US is a huge market, there’s lots of Mexican and no-one expects us to make it. So rather than going spending a lot of money doing big corporate restaurants, which would be risky in that market, we’ve got local partners.
We’ve got a good brand, we’ve got a good menu, it comes down to the people to deliver our ambitions.
FE: Outside of having the right people, what are the big challenges for implementing the growth strategy?
DM: Prioritising, because every market I go to will want to be first.
I’ve got to think, what excites franchisees the most? Chips is the hottest thing at the moment, they all want chips.
We’re about to launch the upgrade of a Zam app and a loyalty program. So we’re about to launch that in the next month or so.
And then refurbishishment. But the thing I’ve got to do is just make sure that everyone’s aligned on each and keep them moving. And take out roadblocks.
Then it’s getting the right people. In theory, if we have right people in every market, we can achieve it all. So at the moment it’s getting the culture right and the people right. And part of the culture is talking to people with respect, it’s communication and regular updates.
And then the other part is to get the franchisees engaged. And part of that is giving back data.
FE: Zambrero has a couple of milestones coming up, including the 100 millionth Plate 4 Plate meal.
DM: Look it’s just crazy. When I joined we had 16 restaurants and the figure was about 30,000 meals, so 100 million is phenomenal. I’ve been privileged to go on two Vision trips [to help distribute meals] and you actually see the impact of our meals. It’s really, really emotional.
And it reminds you, it’s not a gimmick, it’s part of our DNA. Everyone in our organisation wants to go on one of those trips.
So a hundred million is just phenomenal. And it’s coinciding with our 20-year anniversary as well. And then the 400th restaurant in the next year. To achieve all that is fantastic. The enthusiasm now to grow beyond what we’re doing is phenomenal.
